New vehicles let British army down in Afghanistan

New armoured vehicles designed to give troops greater protection against Taliban attacks have performed so badly in Afghanistan that commanders have had to resort to the old Land Rovers they were designed to replace, a report by parliament's watchdog reveals today.

As hundreds of people lined the streets of the Wiltshire village of Wootton Bassett today to honour the return of four soldiers, one of them a Gurkha, killed in a day's violence in Afghanistan, the report by the National Audit Office says a shortage of key equipment has meant troops have been unable to train adequately before being deployed on operations.

UK-based helicopters have had to be cannibalised to repair aircraft conducting vital missions in Afghanistan, and problems with the army's vehicles have been compounded by the weight of on-board electronic countermeasures to detect improvised bombs.

More than two-thirds of the £4.2bn worth of equipment supplied to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as urgent operational requirements has been late in its delivery to the frontline.

The reliability of the replacement armoured vehicle's suspension and wheel hubs has proved "poor", it has limited underbelly armour to protect it from roadside bombs, and spares have been in short supply, says the NAO. Commanders have had to resort to an upgraded version of the Snatch Land Rover used in Northern Ireland, known as the Snatch Vixen, which has been fitted with additional armour.

The new vehicle, the Vector, was introduced into Afghanistan only in 2007. The defence secretary, John Hutton, told the Commons defence committee last month that they had been withdrawn because of "mechanical and technical issues".

Another armoured vehicle, the Mastiff, which was originally acquired primarily for on-road use in Iraq, suffered when it was switched to off-road missions in Afghanistan. Between December 2006 and January 2008, the 87-strong Mastiff fleet went through 176 wheel axles, outstripping the military supply chain's ability to keep up the flow of spares.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, which oversees the work of the audit office, said it was a "woeful state of affairs" when commanders lost confidence in a new vehicle like the Vector so quickly.

However, the report praises medical and welfare services for the armed forces on operations. It adds that the Ministry of Defence succeeded in delivering about 300,000 personnel and 90,000 tonnes of freight to Afghanistan and Iraq during the past two years.

In Wootton Bassett, there were sombre scenes as a cortege with four Union flag-covered coffins drove silently through the village. They bore the bodies of Sergeant Ben Ross, 34, of the Royal Military Police, Corporal Kumar Pun, 31, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, Corporal Sean Binnie, 22, from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and Adrian Sheldon, 25, from 2nd Battalion The Rifles.